Fun with Family

On Thursday we traveled to Marion Indiana to see the cousins! Billy, Jo and the girls are staying with mom and dad for a few days, so we went to spend the day with them! We were greeted by Elsie who had a big surprise that she and Pap had picked up that morning! "Lollies for everyone."

Lucy especially enjoyed hers!
Then every tried to cool off in the little pool Pap had gotten!

It was a warm and humid day. Good day to just sit and relax!

Granny and Gramps were there too!

3 girls and a car - sounds like a company!

Elsie and Lucy

Elsie throws a pitch to her cousin, Nathaniel.

back in the pool!

Lunch Break

only 3 weeks apart and great friends!

some got worn out from the baseball, swimming, etc.

Making Ice Cream in a ball?!

Finally...inside to relax...

or wrestle

The ride home was pretty quiet. I think everyone was a little tired after a fun day with the cousins!

We're thankful for the opportunity to see our Coppedge Cousins!

Missing Grandpa

Back in June, I shared a little about my Grandpa Hornish and the joy in heaven when He was called home (you can read it here). Tuesday afternoon we went to visit Grandma!

Grandma will be 90 in October and she is physically doing pretty well. She is struggling though. She is missing Grandpa terribly. I can't even imagine. She told us of the day that Grandpa fell. They were both sitting in their chairs, watching TV, when Grandpa said, "I wonder who Jesus is talking to right now". (Ron wondered if perhaps Grandpa heard the Holy Spirit calling to him.) Grandma told us of how he got up and when he did he fell and hit his head. Grandpa didn't recover from that fall. He's home with Jesus and his bride of 70+ years is missing him.

She told us how she misses her first love and longs to be with him and Jesus! It was sad for me. I realized that after 90 years Grandma has lived her life and all she has lived for and with is in Heaven, she longs to be there too! She said she thinks a lot of Heaven and what is waiting for her!

You might think these are crazy thoughts, but I found peace in all of this. Grandma is a prayer warrior and a little piece of me wants her to remain here on earth and pray for me forever. I need her and her prayers! But a bigger part of me realized this week that Grandma, more than anyone I know, needs to be in Jesus' arms! She longs to be free of this world and the heartache she feels! I find myself praying for her peace and comfort, praying that Jesus would grant her the desires of her heart! Maybe that's strange to say, I'm not sure - I'm still thinking it all through.

"Jesus I pray that at the end of my life I can sit back and long for you and to be in your presence, knowing with assurance that I have lived my life here on earth for you to the fullest!"

Long Weekend

After a very long weekend with Family and Friends in Wilmore and Kentucky we were all ready to crash! Some got to a little sooner than others. Maddie spent most of her 3 1/2 hour drive home like this!

The Reds Game

I mentioned that my Dad got tickets for our whole family to attend a Reds vs. Braves game last Saturday. What I didn't mention was the heat! It was incredible, very close to unbearable! Thankfully Dad got GREAT seats up in the top of the stadium. We were under the awning and therefore had shade - that was perfect! I can't imagine we would have lasted very long if we had direct sun beating down on us!

For our family it was the 2nd Major League Baseball game in 1 month - WOW! It was fun. It wasn't the same as watching our Indians ( I think because I didn't know many of the players), but it was fun!

The Stadium is right on the Ohio River.

Eli and Maddie enjoyed watching the big boats (and little ones) go by!

Notice, everybody has their water bottle - we went through nearly 3 doz bottles in a very short time. Thankfully we could bring them into the stadium rather than have to pay for them there.

I think this one of my guys was taken before the game actually started - they were ready for the action to start!

Yes...this is Brutus! Maddie and Eli were so excited (probably Ronnie and Nathaniel too, but I was with the younger two). Turns out it was OSU Alumni day at the Reds, so Brutus threw out the first pitch! Sorry it's so blurry, it's hard to take pictures that are still with Maddie on my lap screaming, "I see Brubru"

We were pretty high up, but really had a good view of...

The Great American Ball Park!

The game got really exciting in the 7th inning when the Reds had got the bases loaded and then ended up being only feet from a grand slam. Imagine that, we were only a foot or so away from seeing a grand slam at both Cincinnati and Cleveland!

The Fans! (So funny to me that they wore Buckeye shirts and it turns out to be OSU Alumni night)

We had a blast!

Thanks Dad (aka. Pap) for letting us go!

Family Fun in Cincinnati

Several months ago, my Dad planned a family "party" in Cincinnati for this past weekend. We were all (Jay's family, Jo's family, My family, Mom and Dad)going to meet together on Saturday for a Reds Game. Everyone but us was planning to spend most of the weekend together in a hotel in Cincinnati, but when our plans to move changed we checked with Dad to see if we could get a room in Cincinnati with everyone else for Friday night! So we were all together for the first time in over a year!

Although I will admit getting 8 adults and 8 kids together is chaotic (to put it mildly), it was fun! The Lord Blessed us with a sweet server at O'Charley's who has 7 kids between herself and her fiance - so she didn't seem to mind!

Siblings

Nathaniel even enjoyed his "first ever steak" at a restaurant. Never knew anyone to put steak on a kids menu - I guess that's why at this O'Charley kids DON'T eat free!

Our family rarely stays over in a hotel (matter of fact I can't remember the last time), which makes it an extra special treat! Eli was thrilled to find out that even at this strange room "Funnies" (AFV) was on the TV!

Daddy had to get some work done on his sermon!

There was time to swim.

I love these 4 guys!

We had lots of fun together

All the cousins together again

Fun family times!

Visit to Wilmore

One of our reasons for visiting Wilmore this past weekend was for Ron to find housing and for all of us to visit the Francis Asbury Society!

We are pretty sure that Ron will be spending one week out of each month in Wilmore (all the details will be worked out with the churches at a PPRC meeting in the next few days). With the boys being in school, he will, more often than not, be traveling alone! We have looked into 1 bedroom apartments and other options, but it appeared that his best situation would be a dorm room. On Friday morning while the kids and I hung out with the Rozsa's (see post below), Ron went to meet with the housing department at Asbury. He looked at the dorm rooms and his college days came flooding back :). He will be rooming with one other guy, but sharing a bathroom with 3 other guys. College bathrooms are not the best of memories for my hubby (he's a neat freak), but all in all it seems to be the best for now! Ron will be on the meal plan, which means he will get 2 meals each day in the cafeteria. There is a very small kitchen in the dorm for his 3rd meal! It will be an interesting year of commuting and dorm life, but we continue to believe the Lord is orchestrating it all and we are trusting Him!

After getting things in order with Asbury, Ron came and picked the kids and I up to go to the new Francis Asbury Society (FAS) building. We toured the new building and even got to see his office (I had forgotten my camera in the car). We met some of the ladies who we have been communicating with through phone and email and it's nice to put a name with a face.

I got this picture as we were leaving.

While Ron is in Wilmore for that one week of the month, he will be leading a Discipleship group of Seminary guys. We're anxious to see who the Lord brings to this group and where He leads.

There are still uncertainties about this coming year, but we continue to wait on the Lord and trust Him that all the details will fall into place! We have not been called to know it all, but simply to be obedient to Him!